A Child Forever: The True Ending
by Azul Bloom
Summary: [Complete] Continues from the '03 movie. After Wendy tells the story of the eternal youth and tucks all the children in, a boy flies in through the nursery window, asking Jane to tell the true story of Wendy and Peter Pan's Happily Ever After.
1. Tell Me A Story

Synopses: _Continues from the end of the 2003 movie. Inspired by its alternate ending. All have grown up and now their children know of the adventures of Peter Pan. Upon one night, as they all slept in the nursery of Wendy's home, a young boy flies in through the window, requesting a story from Jane, so she tells the true story of the boy who would never grow old._

* * *

**Chapter 1: Tell Me a Story**  
  
"...but I was never to see Peter Pan again...and now I tell his story to my children, and they will tell it to theirs...and so it will go on...for all children grow up....except one..." As she spoke the last words, Wendy looked around the room at all the blinking eyes, trying desperately to stay awake for the ending to their favorite story.  
  
"That was wonderful Mama...just like every other night" said the girl in Wendy's old bed as she looked up into her mother's smiling face.  
  
"Thank you Jane, now off to the land of dreams, darling." She said, and Jane obediently turned onto her right side, while Wendy pulled the covers over her shoulders and gently brushed the hair away from her face, leaning over to place a tender kiss on her forehead.  
  
The nursery resounded with the soft murmurs of goodnights spoken through barely parting lips as Wendy made her way around the room, kissing foreheads and tucking all in. As she came upon the window, she turned to the starry skies, holding her gaze on the far brightest one, to the right, and whispered words that no one could hear, although all in the room knew she spoke every night: "Goodnight, Peter". She placed her hands on the window and pulled it down half way, blocking the chill of the night, yet allowing the gentle silver glow passage into the room.  
  
"Goodnight to you all...and no flying tonight...understood?" She said as she walked towards the door.  
  
"Yes..." said the few who where still awake to hear.  
  
Wendy turned the dim lights off, and slowly closed the door, careful not to make a sound as she took one last look at the sleeping children and whispered, "Sleep well, my little darlings."

* * *

As the clock struck ten past eleven, a golden glimmer appeared outside the window, shooting the colors on the stain glass through the room and onto Jane's face. Jane's eyes twitched as she stirred in her sleep, fighting to remain in her dreams. A pair of rather dirty fingers wrapped around the bottom of the window, pushing it up and opening it wide. A soft breeze entered the room, making all the children cuddle up closer in bed.  
  
A pair of feet landed quietly on the wooden floor, as a dark figure stood against the moon's glow with his fists placed firmly on his waist. The golden glow entered the room and flew above the beds overflowing with slumbering bodies, refusing to wake.  
  
The boy lifted off the floor and slowly floated to the bed directly in front of the window. He hovered above momentarily, before speaking. "Jane...'tis I...Peter...wake up, Jane..."  
  
The girl stirred a bit more before her eyes slowly opened, revealing the blue orbs she inherited from her lovely mother. She turned her head to look up at the boy floating above her.  
  
"Peter!" she said louder than he wished, and so he quickly placed a hand over her mouth and looked to the door, slightly fretting, slightly hoping.  
  
"Not so loud, Jane...you might wake them up..." Both remained quiet for a moment's passage, but hearing no footsteps or otherwise motion behind the nursery door, Peter sighed, somewhat relieved, somewhat disappointed and removed his hand from Jane's lips. He landed softly on the floor and waved his left hand in the air to motion towards the tiny glow. "Snowchime...wake the others..." he ordered.  
  
From the wooden vanity top, the little golden creature turned her head to salute the boy, before turning back to the mirror to fluff her long black hair which was pulled back with a tiny sky blue lace, and brushed off tiny specks of dirt from her skirt, made of white oleander petals and soft blue wildflowers. She winked at her reflection before lifting off towards the closest bed to the right.  
  
"Peter... not tonight...mother told us no..." said Jane as she sat up, causing the fairy to halt in her tracks and turn to the boy, waiting for his next command.  
  
Peter let out an obviously annoyed breath as he puffed his cheeks, at the sound of her refusal. "Jane...must you listen to mother always?"  
  
Jane smiled softly as she lightly shook her head in mock. "Only when she speaks with reason, which is more often than not...but Uncle Jim visits tomorrow...and we must be here to welcome him...all of us...you know how he loves it so..."  
  
A smile formed on Peter's lips as he recalled the old family friend that Jane referred to. He was a solitary man, keeping to himself most of his life until he moved to the house next to the Darling home. According to him, he did not have much of a childhood himself, but one day as he saw all the children playing outside the house, he was dragged into a make believe game of pirates and Indians. He fell in love with the children and played with them everyday until he had to move away. "Aw... yes....Uncle Jim...I do miss the man...give him my regards..."  
  
From across the room, a little bundle moved below the covers as it made its way to the edge of the bed, his incessant motion stirring the rest in the bed. A red head of curls popped up from below the covers, as the tiny boy rubbed the sleep away from his amber eyes. He opened them and focused his vision on the boy in the middle of the room and smiled wide.  
  
"Peter!!!" he said as he climbed down the bed and ran towards the boy and Jane. "You came! Are you taking us with you tonight?"  
  
"Hi Timothy, but please...not so loud!" said Peter as he placed one finger on his lips.  
  
"Oh..." said the boy and quickly slapped his hand over his mouth. "Sorry" he said in a whisper "...so...are we leaving yet?"  
  
"No Timothy...we are not...mother told us not tonight..." Jane interrupted as she turned to look at the little boy.  
  
"Oh...will you stay then...for the night, Peter?" asked Timothy.  
  
Peter shook his head and sighed. "No...not tonight...not ever...remember?"  
  
"Oh...right..." said the small boy sadly, as he dropped his head, but quickly lifts it up in hope, "Will you then...tell us of your latest adventure?"  
  
Peter lifted his hand to the bundle above his chest, concealed by his dirty green shirt. "Actually...I came in hopes of having Jane tell me a story..." he said as he looked to Jane.  
  
She smiled sweetly as she looked into his hopeful eyes, and her gaze traveled down to the contents he carried around his neck. She knew exactly what story he had in mind, although he never would admit to it being his favorite. It was only obvious to all, for since the day they first heard it, a strange tinkle in his eyes appeared as he turned to the ever open window to look at the brightest star to the right; a strangely perturbed look on his face as he answered to no one's call for him for a moment or so. "Well...since you asked..." She said as she steps out of bed, gently as to not bother the rest who still lay asleep, and reaches over for her robe, which was draped over the edge of the bed. "Let's see...which one...which one..." she said as she put on her robe and lifted her hair up from below it, so obviously pretends to ponder the tale to be told. He bite his lip and strengthened his grip over the contents of his necklace as he stared at Jane who now pacing around him, taping her finger on her chin while staring up at the ceiling.  
  
"How about the one about the eternal child?" said a groggy voice coming from a little girl no older than nine, with raven hair and tiny pink freckles on her nose. She sat up in Jane's bed, causing the mattress to ripple in her movements and waking the rest.  
  
Peter's eyes lit up and a wide smile began to form on his lips, but he quickly cleared his throat and turned his head to the now wide awake child. "Well...I guess that one will do, Anya".  
  
Jane smiled at Peter and looked around at the faces of those who had woken up and were walking towards the center of the room, to sit down and hear their favorite story once again. "All right then...as you wish it......the story of...the never-ending childhood..." Peter floated to Jane's bed and took a seat next to Anya, while Snowchime glided over to perch on his shoulder, and listen to the story she had heard so many a time. Jane stood before the gathering crowd and cleared her throat.  
  
_"All children grow up...except one". Such a misleading ending, is it not? But do not be fooled by such simple words, for the story did not end there... Let us go back... a long ways ago...to the days of the start of his legacy. There, in the quiet of the night, you will truly know, how the story of the eternal youth, came to be... for although the Peter Pan that belongs to you and I will never grow old, it does not mean that the real Peter, did not do so..._


	2. The Power She Has

**The Power She Has...**

Upon his return to the Neverland, the morning after Wendy and the boys returned to London, Peter felt an unfamiliar feeling, rising from the depth of his being. As he sat in his underground home, the events of the previous night easily drifted into his mind.  
  
**Peter lies flat on his back, a trickle of crimson blood traveling down his brow, drying quickly by the cold wind that accompanied the darkness of the night, which fell upon the day sooner than should have. A darkness that seemed to emanate from him, as he fell from the sky, weighed down by thoughts of loneliness and pain. Pain, something he was accustomed to, now caused more grief, for it was not a wound of flesh that hurt, but a wound hidden somewhere where he could not know, but still could feel. His every happy thought purged from his soul, he looks up at the squirming girl in a laughing pirate's arms.  
  
_'You...were leaving me...why wont to stay?'_ The girl had chosen to flee, and poisoned his own men against him. She, with all her tales of swordfight and happy endings, had been about to run back to a dull reality. A reality she had tainted the Neverland with, when she made the one thing that he had ever truly wanted, seem so low and unbecoming. _'You are just a boy'._ Just a boy. Only a boy, nothing more, and surely not enough for her, not enough for anyone. He was incomplete, lacking in something that she did not say, but so obviously deemed of importance. Words, so often used to strike at his enemy's pride, where now used against him. They broke through his barrier of childhood ignorance, pillaging all the magic in his being, his will to be, his will to fight.   
  
A single tear travels down her cheek as she blinks her eyes. _'Yet....you cry...for me?'_ Or was she crying for her own life? Was she simply looking at him, longing to see him jump to his heals, pick up his sword, and save the day, once more? Was all she was hoping for was her escape from the Neverland to be secured? He could not save her now, he could not defeat his foe. It was all done with, and he had lost. A simple smile forms on his lips. _'Wendy...'_ It did not matter, she was here for now. **

**Captain Hook cries out as he raises his hook in the air, the blue in his eyes pushed away by a glowing red, and a bloodthirsty grin spread on his lips. Peter's eyes detach from Wendy as he looks straight above at the cold steal that readies its plunge into his heart.  
  
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" He hears a cry from behind James Hook, as his arm is halted by an unseen force. From the corner of his eye, he sees him turn and forward, he pulls Wendy's small figure, clutching to his arm with all her might. Their gazes lock for a second, his glowing with anger over the intrusion, her's pleading for mercy on Pan. The murderous pirate sneers as he lunges his arm forward, thrusting Wendy to the floor with a loud thud, next to his prey. "Silence all! ... for Wendy's farewell" he announces, as he takes a step back. **

**_'Wendy...don't'_ The pain was too much to bare. Nothing was of purpose now. She is just prolonging the inevitable. It was all done with. He was all alone, with no one to care for, no one to laugh with. There was no point.  
  
She turns to face him, but he keeps his gaze on the night's sky. "Peter" she says softly, begging him to listen.  
  
'_He won...'_ The battle was lost.  
  
"I'm sorry I must grow up"  
  
_ 'No...you mustn't...you chose to...' _He had shown her all the magic of his beloved Neverland. He had offered her unending freedom from all that is mundane, but that was not enough for her. HE was not enough for her.  
  
"But this...this is yours..." she says as she raises her left fist towards his face.  
  
_'What...?'_ What could she possibly give him that he would want now.  
  
Suddenly, Wendy's warmth is yanked away from Peter's side, and as he stares directly up at the sky, his gaze is pulled towards her as Hook holds her by the arm. "'Tis just a thimble." she tells him innocently.  
  
He grins. "So like a girl!" He says mockingly, as his crew laughs. "By all means my beauty...give Peter Pan...your precious thimble..." He releases her arm and she slowly turns, more tears forming in her eyes. A mournful silence overcomes the ship, as Wendy's perfect blue eyes stare directly into Peter's defeated greens.  
  
_ 'If you leave me...'_ There is no reason for him to be anymore. He was The Pan, no more. A boy, proud and valiant in all his quests, reduced to a whimpering coward before his greatest foe. And all because of a girl. One single girl who had refused to stay, in a land of magic and wonders, for fear that she would not grow? She had changed him. Curse the moment he first saw her in her nursery. The moment it started. The moment he felt something more than a child's wish for fun and games. Tinkerbell was right. He should not have stopped above her house that first night. He should have not glided by her window, or peeked in. He should have turned away a second earlier, before her face was imprinted in his mind. But he couldn't help it. Something drew him in. Something called to him, as if, something was meant for him, within that window, in that room.  
  
She leans down and whispers into his ear. "This belongs to you ...and always will..." She lifts her head up.  
  
_'What...are you...'_  
  
She opens her fist and delicately places her hand on his cheek, sending a warm shiver down his body. **

**'_Wendy?'_ The warmth cursing through him slowly pushes away all the pain and loneliness. He stares into her sad face, and notes something hidden in the right hand corner of her mouth. He hears it calling his name. **

**She leans in and slowly presses her tender lips to his, hurling every single thought from his mind. Unable to think, he only feels...feels the warmth of her mouth, and the coldness of her tear as it trickles down onto his cheek. **

**He feels things he doesn't understand. Things he somehow knew existed, but was never willing to learn about. But not all of the strange feelings are just his...some he knows are flowing from her. He feels something unexplainable ... something ... wonderful ... something magical, unlike any other magic he could ever encounter in the Neverland. A calming yet stirring feeling overpowers his being.  
  
She lifts away from their embrace and looks longingly into his face. **

**"That was no thimble..." says John. **

**"...That was her hidden kiss!" announced Michael. **

**An ominous roar lifts all eyes up as the stars collect atop the Jolly Roger. Hook quickly grabs Wendy and hoists her up away from Peter.  
  
Still unable to make sense of it all, Peter feels consumed by a growing desire at the pit of his stomach. **

**"Brace yourself lads" says Slightly. **

**"'Tis a powerful thing...." says Toodles. **

**Peter can't help but smile wildly as he detaches his eyes from his Wendy and stares absently at the sky. Every emotion overpowering his senses and emanating through his skin. **

**"Pan ... you're pink!" exclaims Hook as he stares in disbelief. **

**_'Not... alone...'_ he thinks irrationally for nothing makes sense. Unable to form a thought in whole, only wild emotions bounce around in his soul, threatening to burst right through him if not released. A warmth in his heart that he never knew, or perhaps had long forgotten. A lightness in his head, unlike that of flying to the highest of stars. A sweeping calm that heightens the senses and somehow keeps the body jittering with an unrelenting sensation! **

**"Split my infinitives..." says Hook as he and the rest of the pirates loom over Peter, dumbfounded and gawking.  
  
The feeling rises from his stomach and out his lips in a scream that resonates throughout the entire Neverland, catching the attention of the self-indulgent fairies, and making them fly towards the origin of the sound. Tis was Peter Pan, they all knew. Something grand beyond their grasp is in motion. The glow explodes in a burst of energy that hurls all into the air. **

**_'She...Wendy...you do care!!!'_  
  
His body, now light as a fairy's wings, drifts off the ground, and spins up into the night sky as his arms stretch out wide, soaring and breathing in the cool night air. A smile spread wide on his lips; a vision of happiness and love in his thoughts, and a melody in his ear, of a dance with the one that would always remain. In this moment, on this night, it was clear, that he would never be alone. She was not abandoning him, of this he was sure, for she would never leave him, for ever more. _'My Wendy!'_  
**

* * *

_'That was very odd...but...grand! What power she has...'_  
  
Such a night, filled with magic so new to him left him forever wondering,and all would have been perfectly wonderful if it were not for the ache in his stomach.He turned his head to look at Tink, who was busy studying her reflection in the water bucket. "Tink...I feel weird...I think I am ill."  
  
Hearing his distraught, she quickly lost interest in the fairy in the mirror and flew towards him, pressing her tiny hands on his forehead. But sensing no fever, she floated backwards and shook her head.  
  
"Not sick?" He frowns. "Then why are my palms so sweaty and my heart thumping so fast?"   
  
The little fairy bit her lip and pondered the reason for his illness, when all of a sudden, her eyes light up and a sly smile appeared on her face. She rushed to his ear and whispered.  
  
"Love?!?!?!?" Peter gasped as he tripped backwards. "Love!?!?!?! I cannot love! I am a boy...I do not love!!!"  
  
Tink smiled compassionately as she stared at the frightened boy. He was not willing or able to see it, but it was there. In his own time, he'd see clearly, but for now, it was best to let him be.  
  
"I do not love...even the sound of it offends me!" he says, mostly to reassure himself.  
  
Tinkerbell continued smiling as she reached over to tussle his hair before she shot out of the underground house.  
  
"Stupid fairy....I do not love...I cannot love...love is for adults!" He threw himself on the pile of cloths he called a bed. "Love...meh...it's not that...I simply care for her...like I care for...the lost boys!!!" But the more he thought about those words, the more he released the lie.  
  
_'No...it's not like the lost boys...I know I'd never want a thimble from any of them!'  
  
_"Like I care for Tink!"  
  
_'No...I do not wish for a thimble from her either...'_  
  
He remained still, and then reached over to the table and picked up the small brown pouch containing Wendy's kiss. He took it out and held it in front of his face with his thumb and forefinger, and closed his eyes. A vision of beauty with a sweet laughing smile formed in his thoughts; and as he closed his hand around the kiss, the image became clearer. A girl with long brown hair and a silky voice spook to him words unknown. _'Wendy'_ "This is all you left me...a kiss..." He opened his eyes as the image remained drifting in his thoughts.  
  
_'Wendy Moira Angela Darling ... I know you want to grow up...but why? You should stay here with me...be carefree for ever...'  
_  
Her sweet voice echoed through his thoughts _'There is so much more...'  
_  
'_What more is there? What did she mean...'_ he ponders desperately.  
  
Another echo resounded in response _'I don't know...I think it becomes clearer when you grow up...'_  
  
_'Grow up....grow up...' _he repeats absently, as he placed one hand on his tumbling stomach. _'Does this have to do with growing up?'_


	3. Growing Away From Me

**Growing Away From Me**  
  
Many moons passed, and Peter Pan had so many more adventures. Hook was no longer, this was true, but the land of the never more was always full of peril and fun. He did however, feel rather lonely at times, and so he traveled back down to London, in search of more children, unwilling to grow up as he. However, his plans were always forgotten as he would find himself flying above the Darling household, although it was not always on his way. Often, he would peak through the window next to the nursery, where his Wendy then slept. She had decided to grow up, and her parents could not be happier. They moved her out of the nursery, and put away all her childish things. Peter stared through her window for hours at a time, and although it was never locked, he never dared to enter. The feeling at the pit of his stomach grew stronger the closer he was to her, and it frightened every bone in his body to think that it could take complete hold of him. Yet, there he remained, outside her window, watching her sleep as peacefully as an angel.  
  
She never noticed he was around, although he was always in her thoughts. The golden boy with the piercing green eyes, full of mischief and promise of magic and wonder. A kiss from the wind, a whisper in her ear, the fragrance of summer and spring. It all reminded her of him. But to her, it all seemed like a drifting dream, for she was surely by now, a ghost at the back of the mind of a carefree child, riding the wind's back and laughing ever so happily along the way. For Peter Pan was the lighthearted youth, with no worries or concerns, and with a memory as white as the winter's first snow. Such a thought gave her comfort in an otherwise heart breaking situation. For although she knew she loved him, she wanted him to be happy...and if his happiness was never having to grow up...then she wished him to remain a child forever. For her, on the other hand...happiness was intertwined with the troubles of growing older. It was of course, partly his fault, for the night that he held out his hand for a dance amongst the golden glitter of the fairies and the silver glow of the moonlight, stirred the woman within her, and alerted her to all the wonderful things she could expect with age. Love was a great adventure, and being loved in turn would be the greatest adventure of all. Peter Pan could never give her that.  
  
Aunt Millicent began her instruction on proper social etiquette a few days after her arrival from the Neverland, as soon as she settled her new son in their home. A prim and proper lady, she was to be, so as to gain her place in the highest of society. She accompanied her aunt to every social gathering imaginable, and was introduced to every single individual her aunt deemed worth her becoming of acquaintance with. Aunt Millicent was particularly enthralled with finding her a suitor, and being as lovely as she was, there was never a shortage of young men to answer the call.  
  
Her parents noted the need for their daughter to marry well, and so did not intervene. The other males of the family, however, were a different story altogether. Seeing the countless number of young men parading in and out of their home with the hope of winning the fair Wendy's affections, the boys felt a sort of resentment. Nibbs and Slightly constantly concocted devious plans to be rid of the most annoying of the young men, while the rest simply stared with eyes so frightfully menacing, that some simply did not bother to return. John and Michael loved their only sister with all their hearts, and hated the prospect of loosing her to any unworthy boy.  
  
After a particularly devilish plan that succeeded in scarring away Sir Quidder Couch's oldest son, Aunt Millicent lined them all up from tallest to small and demanded the reason for their actions. All remained quiet, confused and unable to say, except for Slightly, who simply replied, "Mother, no ordinary boy will do."  
  
Wendy, however, tried with all her might to take interest in them. She smiled pleasantly, and listened quietly to their arrogance and self praise, and even felt an attraction for some, but it was all in vain, for her heart remained in the Neverland.  
  
Sometimes, when Peter arrived early enough, he followed Wendy and her aunt as they attended parties and visits to homes of grandeur. On one particular evening, he almost did not have the strength to keep himself from barging in through the window and claiming what his heart knew belonged to him:

Perched outside the highest window in the dance hall, Peter stared at the fair Wendy, noting that she looked particularly lovely that evening. Her golden brown locks softly pulled back with a pink ribbon, dressed in a satin pink dress, which flowed gently to her mid shin, and wearing a smile that lightened up the entire room, she was expectably the center of all attention.  
  
But as his eyes were lost in her beauty, a raven haired lad, dressed in the fanciest of tales walked up to his Wendy. "Good evening" He bowed to her as Wendy curtsied and smiled warmly at the handsome boy. "Would you care to dance?" he said as he extended his hand to her.

"Of course" she said and she took his hand and he led her onto the dance floor. Smiling at each other, he turned to face her and placed his other hand on her waist .

Peter felt a growing anger in the pit of his stomach. 'How dare he dance with my Wendy. I should slit his throat', he thought as he pulled out his dagger. He fumed as he stared at the boy, when he suddenly noticed a giggle escape Wendy's lips in response to the boy's whisper in her ear.

"Wendy..."  
  
_'She...she's...leaving me... all over again...'_  
  
The faint melody and quiet night sounds slowly faded as Captain Hook's voice slithered into his thoughts. _'She can't hear you....she can't see you...she's forgotten all about you...'  
_  
"Oh Wendy..." he said in a defeated tone. Eyes of green shine, drowning in the sadness of his soul. He slowly drifted up and away from the window sill and up towards the dim London night.

Unknown to all around her, Wendy's whole was not in attendance that night, or for that matter, any other night. Her thoughts were always in another instant and place, detached from all that is real, and frozen in time. No earthly dance could ever bestow the enchantment of the feel of a warm summer's wind at your heals and the light of a thousand fairies meant only for two. No ordinary boy could ever compare to the golden haired boy that lived in her dreams. It just could not be. _'Oh Peter...how I do miss you...'_

* * *

Peter flew back to her bedroom that night, while she was still out. He opened the window and stepped into the room. His eyes, normally glittered with mischief, where shadowed with sadness and resignation. He slowly paced within it's walls, noting the grown up things that were placed all around. There, at the corner, should stand her doll house. Now, a simple neat desk occupied the spot. His eyes traveled to the book shelf once overflowing with storybooks and fairytales, but now, all he saw were school books with subjects that he had never heard of neatly stacked. Her closet was filled with a lady's evening attire, not her play clothes and costumes. He walked over to her vanity, where not much more than her jewelry box use to rest. Now, he saw mountains of the weird lady powders and face colors that women wore.  
  
"Oh Wendy...no longer MY Wendy...You shouldn't grow up..." He said as he lowered his head and cried. In his hand, he held her kiss tightly. She was no longer the perfect image of girl's childhood. There was no denying it. With every day's passing she was maturing and resembling her mother. He looked up and stared at the reflection in the mirror, but did not see. All those nights he spent away from the protective arms of his Neverland, in vigil at her window had taken their toll on him. He was not as young as he thought he was. He too had grown a bit. He should have noticed when he constantly found himself in need of more leaves to sow on his trousers. A child's plump features were melting away into a young man's hardened exterior. He was taller, his shoulders were broader and his chest was wider. His muscles had thickened and protruded below his golden tanned skin. His golden locks had grown out so much that he had had Tink cut it down twice already. He stared at the young man in the mirror, still unable to notice the changes, although deep down, he felt something was not quite normal.  
  
He opened his hand and looked at her kiss. "Wendy...you have forgotten all about me...why not...I am...just a boy...and you...you're...a young lady..." _'I don't want to see you grow any older...I do not wish to see you when you meet 'husband.''_ He put the kiss back in its pouch and with a sad sigh, he forced himself to place it on the cold wooden top. A moment of silent mourning, and then he turned back towards the window walking away from the memory left on her vanity.

_'Peter...you wont forget me...will you?'_ he turned back around, but she was no where in sight. He closed his eyes shut, to hinder the tears and floated to the window.  
  
A drop of sorrow escaped his left eye, as he prepared to leave it all behind. "Good bye, Wendy" he whispered as he slowly pushed down the window, and floated up and away towards the stars.


	4. Not Forgotten

**Not Forgotten**  
  
The clock struck 10 as Wendy entered her room, eyes drooping with fatigue, awaiting descent into slumber, where a certain young man with a devilish grin accompanied her throughout her dreams. She removed the ribbon from her hair and walked over to her vanity, where her eyes landed on a little brown pouch.  
  
"What is this?" she said as she picked it up. She opened it and gazed at its contents. "No .. it is...my thimble...." Her face shot to the window, automatically searching for a vision of green and gold floating in the night's dark skies, but all she saw was wood and glass. "I did not leave it locked! I did not close it shut! I never do!!!" She ran to it and pushed it open as she leaned out and looked around the heavens frantically.  
  
"Peter! Peter!! Come back!!! Peter!!!!"  
  
_'He was here...why...did he leave this?'_ Her eyes opened wide as her lips trembled. _'Oh Peter... you still remembered me...'_ Not a day passed where she did not think of the way he curled up his lips in a heart melting smile, but to know that he had still held on to her thimble was a shock in deed.  
  
"Wendy" said Slightly as he peeked in through her door.   
  
"Slightly!...oh Slightly...he was here! He came back while I was out!"  
  
"I know" he said as he entered her room, dressed in his night gown but not able to sleep. "I saw him as he entered your window...Wendy...he still cares for you..."  
  
She stared at him with eyes pleading for him to continue.  
  
"He was sad...as sad as that day on the Jolly Roger" he said as he stared absently at the floor. "...Wendy...you can't let him stay like that...he's Peter Pan...he needs to be happy..."  
  
"But what can I do?!? I can't get to him...I've forgotten how to fly!!!"  
  
"No you have not...it is nothing more than cherishing a happy thought..."  
  
"And the pixie dust? What about the pixie dust!?!" she said as she threw her arms up in the air, still holding on to the little pouch, when suddenly the tiniest amount of golden powder flowed down. They both looked at the air between them in dismay and she turned the pouch over above her hand. More golden dust flew out.  
  
"Pixie dust...Wendy...you can go to him...go to him now!"  
  
She looked around her room momentarily, before she made up her mind and shook the little brown pouch vigorously above her head. A golden glow cloaked her as she closed her eyes and thought about reuniting with Peter Pan. She gently ascended into the air as Slightly smiled and rushed to the window to hold it wide open for her.  
  
"Go!!! Do not worry about Aunt Marry and Uncle George, I will take care of that...just go!"  
  
"Thank You Slightly..." She said before she flew out the window with as much ease as ever, and headed towards the second star to the right.  
  
"Peter...oh Peter...." _'But 4 long years have passed...surely I have grown quite a bit...and he...he is still a boy...will he still like me like this?'  
_  
She flew up passed Big Ben, as a pair of watery eyes gazed at her in bewilderment.  
  
"Wendy?" said Peter Pan, who had perched atop the big hand on the clock while his eyes dried out. "Wendy!!!"  
  
She abruptly came to a halt and turned towards the direction from which the familiar voice came from. "P...Peter!"  
  
Their eyes locked as Peter pushed off from the big hand, forcing it back, and suspending them in a moment frozen in time. "Wendy...you...you're flying!" he said as a smile crept onto his face.  
  
"Peter...you've...you've grown..." she whispered.  
  
He slowly flew to her. "Wendy...you still remember how to fly"  
  
"Yes..." she said as she held out the pouch in her hand for him to see."Why did you leave this behind?"  
  
He looks at it, unsure of how to answer her. "Because...there was no point in my holding on to you... when you had already forgotten me..."  
  
"Oh Peter...I could never forget about you..." she said as she gave him back the pouch."This is yours"  
  
He stared at the pouch in his hands for a moment, feeling pure delight and knowing that she could still fly, knowing that she remembered how to do so, that she still remembered him. He looked up at her with loving eyes. "And this is yours" he said as he quickly flew up to her and placed his hands lightly on her waist, kissing her ever so softly. No time to flinch or pull back, she simply allowed him to do as he pleased; reliving the feel of the love she had for the golden boy.  
  
He calmly pulled away, confused over his own actions, his eyes traveling away from her lips and to the mesmerizing blue eyes "Come away with me...back to the Neverland again." He demanded in a whisper.  
  
"Peter...I...I can't..." she said, trying to resist his hypnotic stare.  
  
"You don't have to stay tonight...I've missed you..."  
  
"What about the boys?" she said as she began to turn her head towards her home.  
  
"Not this time..." he said softly.   
  
She turned to face the same beautiful green orbs that kept her company in her dreams. For tonight, they were not simply in her thoughts, they were real, and looking at her only. "All right..."she said, and resisted no more.  
  
With the serenest of smiles, he gazed at her for a second more, then took her hand firmly in his, lacing his fingers in between hers, and savoring the warmth he'd missed so much, and led her up towards the star he called home. The images of celestial bodies and radiant colors of flight and joy that encircled his path to and from his home were never as magical to him as in that moment. As they burst through the luminous cloak of his beloved Neverland, he tightened his hold on her hand, afraid that she would slip away from his grasp again. They flew above the sparkling blue waters mirroring the stars above them, and over the spot where the Jolly Roger once stood where he saw in their reflection, the vision he had longed for all along. She was there, by his side again, not yet grown beyond his reach, completely still his Wendy, as lovely to him as the wind's embrace. 


	5. Can't Make You Stay, Wont Make You Leave

**Can't Make You Stay...Wont Make You Leave...**

As they flew onto the shores blooming colors of brights and greens, and above the trees but below the clouds, a little golden twinkle glowed brighter. Tinkerbell looked up as she felt his return and saw the reason for the most vibrant flowers and sun light the Neverland had seen in ages. No jealousy or hate, spite or otherwise. There was no room for anything other than his joy, which overflowed from him and spread throughout the region, empowering all. A wicked smile overcame her lips as an idea formed in her head. She quickly set out to gather her kind and flew to the tree house just a moment before Peter arrived. Still lost in the image from the water, he slowed to a halt and turned back to his Wendy. With smiles of happiness and love, thoughts of each other, and nothing else, he gently let her down a shoot before following her in.  
  
"Oh Peter...it's just like I remember it..." she said as she descended into the dim underground home.  
  
Tinkerbell flew up behind Wendy still lost in memories of the days of her stay, towards Peter, and smiled ever so kindly as she chimed "Do not lose this again..." She then flew up and away as the rest of the fairies came out of hiding and light up the room with their golden glows.

_'I shall not, Tink ... I will make her remember...'_ His heart beating as loud as the fairies' glow, Peter walked towards her, bowed, and offered her his hand. "May I have this dance" he said in his most serious of tones. '_...how it feels to dance in the arms of a wind...'_  
  
She smiled a smile that shinned brighter then the golden glow surrounding them, and bowed to him before taking his hand. "Of course, my good sir..."she playfully said.  
  
No more words were spoken. There was no need. As he placed his hand upon her waist and lifted her up into the air, the lullaby of that night four years ago, rippled from their touch. He looked up at her as she floated above, her pink satin dress dancing gracefully around her form, a golden aura surrounding her. The angelic incarnation of his happy thoughts. They danced the night away, entirely immersed in each other's presence, for in that one moment, nothing else existed. No worries of a life left behind, waiting for her return. No concerns with the desire for a carefree existence, at the cost of an eternity of solitude. Only two people, deeply in love, even if one did not truly know what the feeling was.  
  
"Wendy..." he said as his smile slowly disappeared.  
  
"No...Peter" she whispered quickly as she raised one finger to his lips. "Do not speak ... Not again ... Mention nothing about everything else."  
  
"Wendy...My Wendy..." He said as his possessiveness of her name warmed her heart. "I have to speak." The loniness once again burdened his soul, as it tugged at his heals, bringing him back down to the ground, gently pulling her down as well. Sensing the change in the mood of the two, the golden glows slowly crept away.

"Peter..." she said, with eyes begging for him to silence.

"I do not wish for you to leave... not again" he whispered, as the shine in his eye dulled away, like a storm cloud blanketing a sunny spring's day.

"I am sorry...I must..." she said in a whisper.

"I know...that wish of yours to grow old...why?" His eyes searched through hers for the answer to his query. He could not understand, how she could make the choice she had made. How she could actually, want to age...away from him.

"Why?" She asked as she moved her eyes away from his haunting gaze. She could feel his searching in her heart, for an answer she did not want to speak. A moment's hesitation and she said, "... Because...you made me want to..."

Surprised at her words, he absently let go of his hold on her. Unable to speak, he simply starred, waiting for the explanation of her accusation.

"Peter...you...won't ever understand..." she said as she slowly walked away from him, towards a chair by the fireplace.

Being one to think of himself as rather clever, her attack on his understanding troubled his ego. "Do you mean to say that I am not able to comprehend?"

"No....not that...you simply will not WANT to understand."

"Try it and we will see..." he said as he drifted towards her.

"Peter...I was afraid to grow up...it's true...and I wished with all my heart, for an escape from the sentence my father gave me that night..." Her sapphire eyes slowly crept back to his face, pleading for his understanding, afraid to continue. "...that is why you came...you...heard my cry... and...you did save me...you brought me here... and helped me say goodbye to my childhood with one last great adventure...and I realized that...growing older has it's own magic..."

"Magic?? In adults??? Wendy...that cannot be!" He said sure of his words.

"Yes...Peter...it is quite possible."

"Wendy, look around you. This home, this world, this life...it was not meant for the old. It is everything a child could ever want...it is the magic of child's heart...this is true magic!"

"Yes... Peter...I know...this is simply divine...but...a child is simply the outcome of a greater power...a greater magic..." she paused, afraid to say the word that had sent him fleeing in fright and anger years before, "Love."

The mere mention of the emotion sent a cold shiver down his spine. He furrowed his brow as his eyes showed unease and resentment. "Wendy..." he said in a slightly harsher tone.

"Yes Peter...I know..." she said as she shook her head. "You do not feel it...or wish to know of it... but I can't help it...I want to..." she paused as her voice quivered and her eyes pled for forgiveness. "...I do."

A moment of uncomfortable silence overcame the room. "I do not wish to take anything away from...not now...not ever...I've learned Peter...I learned that I can not make you give it up...so I wont..." Silent still, he only gazed at her as she continued to explain. "I will do what I need to do...and you will do...what you want to do...it is as simple as that."  
  
She was to leave again. He opened his mouth to order her to stay...but quickly regained control of his tongue, as he sealed his lips, biting the lower one. There was no making her stay...It would never be. Even after all this...he would still have to let her go..."Yes...I guess that is the only way" he said with false bravery in his words. "...Already you are older than I..."  
  
Wendy giggled softly, cutting off his words. "I older than you? I know for a fact that I am no older than 16...but you...you have no recollection of your birth...and as of now... you also resemble 16."  
  
Peter stiffened as he gasped in surprise. "What?" Wendy's giggles quickly seized as she saw the horror in his eyes. "You...did not know?" She stared at him as his every muscle remained the same. "You have grown as much as I..."  
  
"What?" he asked in a low voice.  
  
"See for yourself..." she said as she reached for his hand and pulled him towards the only mirror in his underground home.  
  
"It can not be" He moved past Wendy to gaze into the mirror. He stared at the young man looking back at him, and finally saw what he had refused to acknowledge. He had grown.....and it hadn't bothered or hurt him at all! The strange things that were surfacing all along, the connection he felt for the girl before him, the longing for something he did not know. It all made sense right then and there. He was growing. He could not help it. He did not wish for it, but it was happening all the same. Brave as he was to fight off countless enemies throughout the ages, he never once found the bravery to face his greatest fear...leaving childhood. Frightened, he pulled away from the image, looking desperately at Wendy. But as his eyes rested upon her loving blue orbs an unexplainable calm took hold. His heart was still wailing, crying out for the aging to stop, holding on to the spark of youth that still remained; but something, or someone else was saying something to soothe the fright. Where was that voice coming from? His eyes slowly moved down his arm and to his hand, where he realized that he had tightened his hold on Wendy's soft hand, and she in turn, had done the same. The feel of her tender touch, emitted comfort and aid, and he felt the might of a thousand men.   
  
"Peter..." she said as she walked closer to him. "Are you...all right, Peter" It was she, the voice in his head. She was telling him things would be allright. That she would be there, by his side...helping him every step of the way. She was saying that she was brave enough for the two.  
  
"I...I did grow..." he said calmly as he ran his hand along his prominent jaw line."It must have been all those times I stayed by your window..."  
  
"What?"  
  
He paused, tranquil and more collected than he had been in a long time. "I've continued visiting your window...I said I'd come to hear you're stories...and I did...but sometimes" he paused as slight embarrassment tinted his face. "...I'd simply come...because of you..."  
  
"Oh Peter...why did you never speak to me?"  
  
"I ...I couldn't...I was afraid....and I do not get 'afraid'!" He said as his tone strengthened  
  
"Peter...what...what does this all mean..." She said, as her countenance became sadder. "...if you continue to leave Neverland...you will eventually become a man anyway...and....I can not stay here forever..." she said as tears began to flood her eyes. She knew what had to be, but could not bring herself say the words.  
  
Unwilling to allow her to shed any more tears, he slowly took her hand in his and gently lifted it up to wipe them away. Without thinking he said softly "Then we shall grow older together..."  
  
Shocked, her eyes widened as she pulled away from him. "No...Peter...No! Do not say things that you do not mean! You will not grow older! You are the Neverland! And the Neverland is you! You will not abandon it...I know you can not!!!" "I know... and I will not abandon it..." The words passed through his lips only a step ahead of his reasoning "I don't know how long I've been here...but I am quite sure that it has been longer than 16 years..." He looked around his home. "I am not ready to leave it yet...and growing older still scares me..." He said as his eyes gently land upon her again. "..but maybe, time is finally catching up, and telling me it is time to move on..."  
  
Words of a child, were not on his tongue. It was obvious that the years that had passed had matured his mind, and giving him the courage to face his biggest adversary.  
  
"Wendy...I propose this to you...stay with me in Neverland...and then...we will both go back to London...and so shall continue...so we both will age only slightly at a time...giving us both enough of a childhood to last us an eternity..."  
  
"And then what? After we have matured? What then? Will you truly go to an office? Or will you then fly away... back here...and never die?! I cannot go through that!!!"  
  
He shook his head as he closed his eyes and leaned in closer. "What have I said so many times before? To die...would be an awfully big adventure...and to live is also...and Peter Pan...is all about adventure..." He smiled his heart melting smile. "Peter..." she whispered through a slight smile. "You will have your adulthood, and everything that comes with it...and I will have my immortality..." He paused and looked deeper into her eyes, "you will tell my story to children who will then live to tell it to other children, and so I will never grow old..."  
  
Tears flowed down her cheeks again, although these smelled of sweet bliss. "I want always to be a boy, and have fun...and as long as children still know of my adventures, then I will be forever a boy..."

"Oh Peter!" she said as she threw her arms around his neck. Of all the nights she dreamt of him, never once did he choose to stay, for always she thought Peter Pan would never grow old. Now, while awake, she dreamt the one dream, she never could while asleep.


	6. A Child Forever

**A Child Forever...**

And so it was that Peter Pan became the story that you all know. Upon hearing their decision, the lost boys, John and Michael decided to do so as well, and they spent every winter and fall in the land of the never more. Eventually, the Darling parents slipped into death, and the house was left to Wendy. She wrote her novel about her amazing adventures in the Neverland, and published it with the title Peter and Wendy. The royalties of which ensured that none of them would ever have to venture into an office.  
  
Time passed by, and each one of them eventually grew older and were blessed with images of themselves of a time of innocence and fun, children of their very own. Slightly married at what seemed to his wife as age twenty-two, and had two sons, Nigel and Christian. Nibbs and a Tootles each had one, Lacey and Charles. Curly had four, Moira, David, Brighton and Anya. The twins had two and three, Vincent and Jack, Angela, Bell, and Philip, with one set of identical girls Mila and Nina.

John, being one to like the proper life, studied abroad in America, where he fell in love with a young lady with chocolate eyes and milky brown skin, known as Eagle of Grace by her kin. Three children out of this marriage, did come, Mary, Diana, and Tobias. Michael, oddly enough, married last, at the apparent age of 31, but whose progeny outnumbered any one, with Celeste, Kevin, Byron, Julianne, Megan and little Timothy.

As for Wendy and Peter, it is obvious to know that they wedded, at the seeming age of 19 and 20, although it was most likely nowhere near correct, and she gave birth to a girl, Jane, as lovely and wise as her mother, with golden locks and a mesmerizing stare, and a boy with eyes of forest green and his uncle Michael's fire-red hair, and a spirit so like his father's, that he was named as he, Peter .

A wild bunch, these children were, especially when all together in one floor. All of their children would drift into slumber at night with Wendy's tales of swordfights, pirates, fairies and mermaids dancing in their dreams, forming visions of wonders they ached to see. Each one committed every syllable to memory, so when any of the adults would pause in attempt to recall a name, a sunrise, or a gliding wind, the children would yell out in chorus the word at the edge of their parent's tongue. And so, it was only expected that the parents would barge in to their nursery's one night and see only empty beds with tiny hand prints traced in golden dust along the ceiling trailing to an open window. Thankfully, for the parents, they always returned, even after months of absence, with new stories of their wild adventures, pleading Wendy to sow them into the tapestry of her own.

However, Wendy and Peter's son was too much like his father, and upon the night of his twelve year, he decided that he did not wish to grow any older, and so his very own fairy came and took him away to the Neverland.

Of course, Wendy and Peter were sad to know that their son was gone, but Peter could not help but smile as he read the simple note left on his bed.

Dear Mother and Father,

I want always to be a boy and have fun.

Peter  
  
Wendy shed a few tears, as she stared out the window, seeking out her son's figure against the moon's glow, when Peter came up behind her, still holding the note and placed his free hand around her waist.

"He'll be fine..." he said simply.

Not removing her eyes from the luminous night, she curved up the right edge of her lip and said, "I know...I'll miss him though..."

"The promise of eternal childhood is very luring...he being my son, could not help but go..." he said, as he wiped her tears away with his hand.

She sighed and turned with a gleam in her eye and asked "Do you regret your life here, away from the wonders that your child will now see?"  
  
Peter smiled and looked out the window, at the far away glimmer that once was his home. There was no more need for swords and daggers in his life. No more Indians and Pirates or fairies and mermaids. Such things are for the young...but young at heart as he always remained, such things would never fade. A twinge of jealousy rippled through him, as he thought of his boy swimming amongst the Neverland clouds. But as he turned his gaze to his wife's sapphire eyes, he simply thought that this was the only place for him. Blessed be the innocence of a child and the paradise that belongs to him, but in heaven are those that find a love as enchanting as theirs.

"No...not now...not ever...I would never trade my time in the Neverland, but here is where I belong. You changed me, Wendy lady...for the better I am not sure...but you did...and Neverland gods forgive me...but this is my home."

It would have been all too easy for Peter and Wendy to set out in search of their son, but you see, they both new all too well the magic of the Neverland was addicting and truly fun. He had made his choice, and they would not make him come back, but they forever more left his nursery window open, so he would know that he would never be forgotten.

Oh, but do not be saddened by this, for although he never did return to stay, he did visit quiet often. Of course, he had to, his sister and cousins were still about, hungry for more of the Neverland's skies and the magic of its plush forests and crystalline waters. But afraid of the power his mother had on the boy who vowed to never grow old, he never stayed to feel their embrace. Instead, upon their window sill, while deep in slumber they remained, he would place a leaf of a hue only those that had flown to the stars would know. A greeting of sorts, to show that he was well in deed.

And so, Peter's son lived in blissful childhood for years unknown, assembling his very own collection of lost boys. No day too boring. No night too dull. He soared carefree, but never forgetting his legacy, for around his neck, with a silver chain, he always carried his parent's kisses. An acorn, a thimble, a memory incased, of the boy whose crow still echoes in the glistening night, and the girl that made him want the greatest adventure of his life. Such was his existence in a world of fun and every new adventure a tribute to his father.

And so it continued, generation after generation...and so it will go on...for all children grow up...but childhood will forever go on...  
  
The End


	7. It Will Forever Go On

**It Will Forever Go On...**  
  
_"..for all children grow-up, but childhood will forever be strong."_ As Jane speaks her last words, she glides her vision around the room, noting the nods of approval with smiling faces all around the room.  
  
"'Tis your best delivery yet, Jane...you will be as good as Aunty Wendy soon enough", says a girl with dark brown eyes and auburn hair.  
  
"Why, thank you, Lacey"  
  
Peter sat quietly, his mind still lost in visions from his sister's tale, his gaze frozen and unmoving from the spot in space it rested since the story began. His father had given it all up, the plush greens of the forest, the perfectly sweet waters, and the eternal prism of colors seen only in dreams that forever glide above the island. And all for a girl...one single girl...his mother. Surely, she possessed some sort of magic that bewitched him, something that he knew he could not live without...but what is was...he could not understand...even after he would hear the story, over and over, he could not understand how he could have left it all behind. It made no sense, and yet, somehow it did. He knew the answer lay in the way his father still stares at her from across the room, as if she's a vision of wonder that he has never seen. How when they believe they are alone, they seem to loose themselves in a dance, their movements guided by a song no one else hears, seemingly floating without a speck of fairy dust. There was something in their eyes. A twinkle of magic not found in the Neverland, but still he knew of, that shown brightest only when they were within each other's reach. And there was something in her touch, that made his whole world seem right when everything else would seem so wrong. The smile on his mother's lips...that wickedly mocking smile, so sweet and inviting...caring and forgiving. The feel of her warm embrace, that seemed to push away all the darkness that loomed in a child's nightmares. He longed to feel her lips on his forehead, for once more at least. To know once again, the safety of her arms wrapped around his body, cradling him into her lap and whispering stories and songs of a mother's sweet lullabies into his ears. But if he was to know any of this again, he was sure it would mean abandoning the land of forever bliss. No...he could not...and would not...that was his home...from the day he was born... he knew there was something else for him beyond the cold London streets, and away from all things ugly and ordinary. He would not make the same mistake as his father. He would not let her change him.  
  
"Peter?"  
  
His sister's voice scattered his thoughts and he turns to see her face, adorned with perfect features, so reminiscent of his mothers. The same eyes, full of compassion and care for all in her heart. The same rosy smile, with one kiss hidden in the right hand corner of her mouth. "Yes?"  
  
"You best be going now...we will not go with you tonight, but we must all get some sleep if we are to finish our home-studies before Uncle Jim arrives tomorrow."  
  
"Right...yes..." He lifted off the bed and floated to the window, with Snowchime still perched on his shoulder, pausing to turn and wave goodbye. "I will be back...perhaps in a few weeks...just keep the window open..."  
  
"We always do..." replied Jane as she followed him to the open window.  
  
Peter smiled before lifting off and pushing the window down half way. The golden glimmer seen through the glass slowly moved to the right and finally, disappeared.  
  
"Do you think he will ever just stay?" asked Charles, to no one in particular as he climbed back in bed, between Nigel and Jack.  
  
"I believe not...he was always the most stubborn one in our bunch." Replied Nigel as he reached over to turn off the lamp next to the bed, and tucked himself in.  
  
Jane smiled to herself as she watched as everyone settled back into their beds, and then laid down, pulling the covers over her shoulders. The look in his eyes whenever he heard that story was something to ponder. Sure, he flew away to the land of the never more, but there in his eyes, behind that spark of mischief and pride, was something odd, but not unfamiliar to any of them, at all. A gleam not child-like and yet, not fully mature either, like that in the forest green eyes of their father. It seemed to lay dormant, waiting for something, or someone to come by and make it sparkle even brighter. _'Perhaps he will not return home...but...he will return...somewhere...where a kiss waits for him...'_

* * *

Peter left the nursery once more, determined to never again call it home, but as he did on each visit, he flew to the window two rooms down. Careful to not make a sound, he floated to the bottom right and slowly leaned over to peak trough the slightly open window, into the room. There in their bed, lay his parents, turned towards each other, the top of his mother's head slightly below the tip of his father's nose, wrapped in each other's arms, in a loving embrace, perhaps; but most likely, to keep warm through the night's chill, for they would never close the window.  
  
Peter looked on, as a pain in his heart grew stronger. _'Mother...father...'_ He had made his choice, and this was the price. To never again know the joy of a parent's hug or tender kiss.  
  
A moment passed, and still he stared. Snowchime chimed something in his ear that to us might mean "We must get going". He looked to his fairy and smiled, and lifted his hand to the pouch hanging on his waist. Forth, he pulled out one single leaf, of the most radiant green. The color of a thousand summer winds, with the scent of sweet waters. He shifted his eyes towards his fairy, who instinctually turned away from him and gazed at the moon, pointing and chirping about its particular brightness on this night. He slowly closed his eyes and pressed his lips on the leaf. _'Father...mother...never forget about me...'  
_  
He placed the leaf on his palm and let the night's wind lift it up and carry it into the room. However, it did not land on the floor below the window as it always did. Tonight, the wind saw it fit to carry it to his father's face, where it landed gently enough to not make a sound, but nevertheless stirred his eyes. Peter looked in unsure about whether to flee, when his father's hand moved to his face and removed the leaf. Looking at it for a second, he turned to the window, to see his son. Their eyes met, for the first time in years, but not a word was said. Peter smiled at his son, and placed the leaf next to Wendy's face. No...he would not wake her. He would not let her see what she could never have again. He could not bear to see her shed one more tear, and he could not chance his son giving up what he knew he still was not ready to leave behind. Little Peter motioned to speak, when his father quickly rose one finger to his lips. _'No, not a word...'_  
  
Little Peter hovered outside the window for a few more seconds. Starring at his father, the one and true Peter Pan, and noting that he was boy no more. And yet, on his lips, was that same smirk, of which fables were told. A half smile half sneer. Fully mischievous, and definitely cunning. A slight lift on the left hand side of his lips, with a promise of laughter and forever bliss.  
  
The same little devilish smile overcame Little Peter's lips, as he bowed down, his gaze still held firmly on his father, but turning slightly towards his mother as he stood up straight. The smile faded, and his eyes glazed over. _'Never again...to feel your embrace...'_ He waved goodbye, and backwards he floated, his eyes lingering on the window until he could no longer see within the room. Off he flew into the night sky, towards the heavens, to the star on the right.  
  
Peter stared at the window, for a second longer, before turning back to his wife, her eyes still closed shut. As he laid his head back down, he heard her soft voice. "Is he gone?"  
  
Peter eye's opened wide. She was awake, for how long? She knew he had come? Why did she not speak? "Wendy...you were awake?"  
  
He could see her eyelashes slowly lift up, as she absently stared toward, into his neck. "Yes...I always am..."  
  
Peter looked on, unsure of what words to speak.  
  
"I know when my boy is near. I can feel him." She said, not moving an inch.  
  
"Why do you never speak to him?" He said, half sure of her reply.  
  
"Because...he is not ready...to come back...and perhaps, he never will..." She turned her head up to look into his eyes. "...besides...the world needs a Peter Pan..."  
  
Peter smiled as he searched within her azure eyes, for the little girl he'd fallen in love with years before. She was definitely still there, hidden within the women that he would always love. How odd life tends to be. Making you think you want something, then making you realize, it was a whole other magic that you always needed, even if you never knew it. Although he loved her with all his heart, in that moment, he felt that he fell just the tiniest bit deeper in love with the perfect angel in his arms.

* * *

And there you have it...the happily ever after that you were never told. Ah...but I see there are skeptics out there...unable to believe, my words and version of the tale you think you know. But I can assure you, 'tis all true. I know...because I was there....not since the beginning....but towards the middle...not at the end...because there is none. There story began with a kiss...and still goes on...for they will forever live on...in our stories, in our hearts. A love that offered the one enchantment that the magical boy, had yet to experience. Why the deception all these years? The answer is simple. My father wished it so, and my mother agreed. He knew that children needed him to be the eternal boy, to bring a spark of light into their sometimes darkened days. To be the one that lifts them out of loneliness and tears, to a world where a child, will never fear.  
  
My brother sought the life my father left, but he also ended up choosing a life more ordinary. Yes, 'tis the blessing, or the curse; however you wish to see it. For a child can only remain a child, so long as he knows not of the enchantment of a love's embrace, and as luck or fate would have it, he ventured into the window of his very own 'Wendy' one night. Drawn in by a sadness so strong it hurt his own heart, he met a girl of ebony hair, and eyes of honey, and every bit as wickedly mischievous as he. An only child, she was, orphaned at the tender age of three, and under the care of her aging grandmother, too distraught from the loss of her son to pay any attention to the lonely girl. He rescued her, from such a sad life, and with a look and a sigh, and a brush of the hand as he lifted her off the ground for the very first time, he fell for her charms and she in turn for his. She escaped to the stars, and became the first lost girl, but time passed by, even in Neverland, and he chose the path our father did many years before.  
  
His son is out there though...flew away to the second star to the right, I hear...but he most likely has not acquired all of his men, so if at night, you hear a crow, and see a flash of gold against the moon glow, your greatest adventure is about to unfold, so run to your window as fast as you can, and wish in your heart with all your might, for a chance for magic, fun, and flight. This is fair warning, for now you are told, of the true story of boy who will never grow old.

Never the End,  
Jane Marie Pan Darling


End file.
